Thanksgiving: Why I Am Thankful

For those in America, Thursday is Thanksgiving.

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });

Since the last Thanksgiving, the world has lost Steve Jobs, Joe Frazier, Wangari Maathai, Amy Winehouse, Betty Ford, Andy Rooney, etc. I share in the loss of these great men and women. I am thankful that I am still here and that I still have the opportunity to make my little contributions so that when my time comes, I will be counted as one of those who made an attempt. And on my grave stone it shall be written in bold letters; “He Tried.”
 
I am thankful that my grandmother, Ihelemeonu (shame on the mouth that fails to speak up), has gone to a place where the giant wheel of the transformational agenda will not crush her.
 
I am thankful that I could not vote in Nigeria’s election and as such I was not sucked into the moral quagmire of voting for Goodluck Jonathan but not for the PDP.
 
I am thankful that I am alive to see Herman Cain run for president. It gives hope to all pizza delivery men about the possibility of miracles.
 
I am thankful that now Reuben Abati is finally free to see other people, in the open – no more monkey business in the dark allies.
 
I am thankful that Bode George is out of prison and no other big man or woman has gone back ever since, which goes to show that he sacrificed two years of his life so that all big men and women could be saved.
 
I am thankful that men who stare at goats are not the same as men who stare at he-goats after they smell the gushing urine of she-goats.
 
I am thankful that I have not watched the Twilight movies. It tells me that there is still hope for me.
 
I am thankful that the sea is still being followed by the ocean and not the other way around.
 
I am thankful that when the devil falls in love, it splits the moon into two.
 
I am thankful that the truth is still indivisible, irreversible and irresistible.
 
I am thankful that all beautiful things are born in fire or in the mud.
 
I am thankful that when passion peaks, sweat pours.
 
I am thankful that in spite of a phenomenon like Jeremy Kyle, I have continued to find a way to whet my appetite for enlightenment.
 
I am thankful that I am holding on to rainbow’s tail end.
 
I am thankful that I do not have to quote Friedrich Nietzsche for people to pay me any mind.
 
I am thankful for God’s silence around me for it confirms His presence - at work.
 
I am thankful that I am gradually conquering desire, sucking its mysteries out, as I approach nirvana.
 
I am thankful the woman called prosperity was finally revealed to me. She was wearing a gown of thorns.
 
I am thankful that I am still willing to be lucky by the only means I know – working hard.
 
I am thankful I worship hope not human; guts not guns; and deeds not degrees.
 
I am thankful that the real terminal degree is the one only death bestows.
 
I am thankful that I know at a very young age that admiration has an evil twin brother called envy. And that they only separate when sand goes back to sand and dust back to dust.
 
I am thankful that I am the Central Bank Governor of my most valuable legal tender – time.
 
I am thankful for those little secrets that nobody but me knows.
 
I am thankful I haven’t crossed the tiny line between self-esteem and self-annihilation.
 
I am thankful that I know that our tumbles are not all caused by foes who stifle our breath; many are caused by friends, families and pastors who attribute all tumbles to foes who stifle our breath.
 
I am thankful that I know that truth is not beautiful and lie is mere decorated dirt.
 
I am thankful I didn’t spend a lifetime before I understood that true love travels through rough valleys and rugged mountains.
 
I am thankful that my marriage was not made in heaven but in the heart of a special woman, Edna, who I can reach with smiles, tears and fears.
 
I am thankful for the impression of me as an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-in-all man that my kids, Ijeamaka and Ogonna, have.
 
I am thankful for my parents, J. C. and Madam J. C for teaching me how to think for myself.
 
I am thankful for my siblings who pick up the slack as I strive to scribe an all-summer slam.
 
I am thankful I am able to make sacrifices in spite of the embarrassing moral authority they try to confer on me.
 
I am thankful for my annoying habits. Otherwise, I would think I am perfect.
 
I am thankful for those who chew me out. They love me. Even though neither them nor I often believe it.
 
I am thankful I am good at something. I just have to find out what the hell that thing is.
 
I am thankful that I have hot heart and cold head and not the other way round.
 
I am thankful to the angel who tapped me, woke me up, and said to me, “‘no’ is also an answer.”
 
I am thankful that in my loneliness lies the seed of my uniqueness.
 
I am thankful that dripping vanities of this world have not found a way to chip away at my conscience.
 
I am thankful that I have the courage to follow my own paths. Otherwise, I would have been stuck in highway traffic.
 
I am thankful that even though I see God in his grace everyday but recognize Him not, He sees me covered with filth but still recognizes me.
 
I am thankful that in spite of everything going on, I still smile at every impending wonder.
 
Happy Thanksgiving, you all.

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });